The Short Answer
Iowa law does not require a survey before you build a fence. Iowa Code Chapter 359A, the primary law governing partition fences between adjoining landowners, sets rules for cost-sharing and dispute resolution but says nothing about requiring a survey as a precondition of construction.
That said, skipping a survey is a calculated risk. A fence placed even a foot or two over the property line can result in removal orders, neighbor disputes, and costs that dwarf what a survey would have cost in the first place.
Iowa Code Chapter 359A: Partition Fences
Iowa Code Chapter 359A establishes the legal framework for partition fences between adjacent landowners, primarily for agricultural and rural properties. Key provisions include:
- Adjacent landowners share fence maintenance costs equally. Each owner is generally responsible for one half of the partition fence along their shared boundary.
- Disputes about fence obligations are resolved through fence viewers, officials appointed by the county board of supervisors.
- Fence viewers can inspect the fence, determine each owner's obligations, and issue legally binding orders about who must build or maintain which portion.
- The law does not establish where the property line sits. That is the job of a licensed Iowa Professional Land Surveyor.
The fence viewer system works well when both neighbors agree roughly where the property line is. When the line itself is disputed, or when an owner suspects the line is not where the other party claims, a PLS survey is the tool Iowa law provides to settle that question before proceeding.
When a Survey Prevents a Costly Mistake
Most Iowa property owners who skip a survey before building a fence are not being negligent. They simply assume they know where the line is. The problem is that this assumption fails more often than people expect:
- Corner markers on Iowa agricultural parcels can be buried, missing, or displaced by decades of field work, road grading, or drainage tile installation.
- Property lines on rural parcels often do not run parallel to roads, drainage ditches, or hedgerows that owners use as visual guides.
- An existing fence that has stood for 20 years may have been placed incorrectly when it was built. Using it as a reference just repeats the error.
- In subdivided neighborhoods and rural acreage alike, small measurement errors compound over distance. A line that appears obvious at one corner can be several feet off at the other end of a 400-foot fence run.
Iowa's adverse possession law requires 10 years of continuous, open, hostile, and exclusive possession to claim a boundary by use, and even then a court must issue a judgment. A fence in the wrong spot for five years creates no legal right, and no protection against a removal demand.
How the Fence Viewer Process Works
If a neighbor disputes the location or maintenance of a partition fence in Iowa, either party can request intervention from the county fence viewers. The process works as follows:
- A written complaint or request is filed with the county board of supervisors asking for fence viewer appointment.
- The county appoints fence viewers, typically two or three individuals familiar with local land and fence practices.
- The fence viewers inspect the fence line and hear from both parties.
- They issue a written determination identifying each owner's obligations, which portion of the fence each must maintain, and any required repairs or construction.
- Fence viewer orders can be enforced through the courts if an owner fails to comply.
Fence viewers have authority to resolve cost and maintenance disputes. They do not have authority to establish where the legal property line falls. If the boundary location is contested, the fence viewers will typically require the parties to resolve the boundary question first, usually through a PLS survey, before proceeding with fence-related orders.
Before You Build: What to Check
A few steps before breaking ground can prevent the most common and expensive fence mistakes in Iowa:
Review Your Deed and Existing Plats
Your deed describes your property using either a lot-and-block reference to a recorded subdivision plat or a Public Land Survey System (PLSS) description referencing townships, ranges, and sections. Understanding which system applies to your parcel is the starting point. If your property is in a recorded subdivision, the county recorder likely has a plat on file showing lot dimensions.
Check for Existing Monuments
Iowa surveyors set iron pins or other physical monuments at property corners when they conduct surveys. These markers are sometimes visible above grade, more often at or below grade. A metal detector along the expected property line can locate buried iron pins. If you find a pin, note that it may have been disturbed since it was set. A licensed surveyor should verify any existing monument before you rely on it for fence placement.
Talk to Your Neighbor First
If you and your neighbor agree on where the line is and neither has a reason to doubt that agreement, you can proceed with reasonable confidence. Put any informal line agreement in writing regardless. If there is any uncertainty on either side, a survey protects both of you.
Consider Getting a Survey
A residential boundary survey in Iowa typically costs $500 to $1,200 for a standard suburban or urban lot. For rural agricultural parcels, expect $800 to $2,500 or more depending on acreage and record complexity. That cost compares favorably to removing and reinstalling 200 feet of privacy fence, which can run $3,000 to $7,000 or more including labor and materials.
What Happens If a Dispute Arises After the Fence Is Built
If your neighbor disputes the location of a fence you have already installed, Iowa Code Chapter 359A gives them a path to challenge it. They can request fence viewer intervention or pursue a boundary dispute through the courts. If a licensed PLS survey shows your fence encroaches on their property, you will likely be ordered to move it at your expense.
A survey commissioned before construction becomes your legal protection if a dispute arises later. The certified plat showing the boundary location and fence placement relative to that line is the evidence that resolves the dispute in your favor, or at minimum, establishes the facts clearly.
Iowa Fence Law and Agricultural Parcels
Iowa Code Chapter 359A has roots in agricultural practice, and its provisions apply most directly to rural properties where adjoining landowners share a fence line across farm fields or pasture. Iowa's flat to rolling agricultural terrain means fence lines often run for hundreds or thousands of feet across flat ground, making accurate boundary location more critical, not less, since small angular errors become large discrepancies at distance.
For agricultural parcels, a PLS survey that ties property corners back to PLSS section corners provides the most durable boundary documentation. Section corners established by Iowa's original General Land Office surveys are the anchor points for the entire rural land grid, and a survey that traces back to those monuments is harder to challenge than one relying only on prior plat records.
Find a Licensed Iowa Surveyor
Before you build a fence on a property line that has not been recently surveyed, talk to a licensed Iowa PLS. A brief consultation can tell you whether an existing record is recent enough to rely on, or whether new field work is warranted. Find licensed Iowa surveyors at the Iowa land surveyor directory.